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BANGUI, Central African Republic –
Tens of thousands of Muslims are fleeing to neighboring countries by
plane and truck as Christian militias stage brutal attacks, shattering
the social fabric of this war-ravaged nation.

In towns and
villages as well as here in the capital, Christian vigilantes wielding
machetes have killed scores of Muslims, who are a minority here, and
burned and looted their houses and mosques in recent days, according to
witnesses, aid agencies and peacekeepers. Tens of thousands of Muslims have fled their homes.

The cycle of chaos is fast becoming one of the worst outbreaks of violence along Muslim-Christian fault lines in recent memory in sub-Saharan Africa, tensions that have also plagued countries such as Nigeria and Sudan.

The brutalities began to escalate when the country’s first Muslim leader, Michel Djotodia,
stepped down and went into exile last month. Djotodia, who had seized
power in a coup last March, had been under pressure from regional
leaders to resign. His departure was meant to bring stability to this
poor country, but humanitarian and human rights workers say there is
more violence now than at any time since the coup.

“Civilians
remain in constant fear for their lives and have been largely left to
fend for themselves,” Martine Flokstra, emergency coordinator for the
aid agency Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement Friday, adding
that the violence had reached “extreme and unprecedented” levels.

On
Friday, thousands of Muslims hopped aboard trucks packed with their
possessions, protected by soldiers from Chad, and drove out of Bangui,
as Christians cheered their departures or tried to loot the trucks as
they drove through Christian areas. At least one Muslim man, who fell
from a truck, was killed by a mob. Meanwhile, thousands more Muslims
huddled at the airport in a crowded hangar, waiting to be evacuated.

“They
are killing Muslims with knives,” said Muhammed Salih Yahya, 38, a
shopkeeper, making a slitting motion across his throat. He arrived at
the airport Wednesday from the western town of Yaloke with his wife and
five children. “I built my house over two years, but the Christians
destroyed it in minutes. I want to leave.”

Christians have also
been victims of violence, targeted by Muslims in this complex communal
conflict that U.N. and humanitarian officials fear could implode into
genocide. Several hundred thousand Christians remain in crowded, squalid
camps, unable or too afraid to return home.

But attacks on Muslims in particular are intensifying, aid workers said.

Djotodia’s
departure weakened the former Muslim rebels, known as Seleka, who
carried out deadly attacks on Christians after they grabbed power in
March, prompting the birth of Christian militias called the anti-balaka,
or “anti-machete” in the local Sango language. The armed vigilantes have used the power vacuum to step up assaults on Muslims.

Now
in disarray, the Seleka are no longer able to protect Muslims from the
Christian vigilantes. The roughly 6,500 French and African troops
authorized by the U.N. Security Council to intervene have been unable to
stop the violence.

“In the northwest and in Bangui, we are
currently witnessing direct attacks against the Muslim minority,”
Flokstra said. “We are concerned about the fate of these communities
trapped in their villages, surrounded by anti-Balaka groups, and also
about the fact that many Muslim families are being forced into exile to
survive.”

Fleeing to Chad

According
to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 60,000
people, most of them Muslim, have fled to neighboring countries since
Dec. 5, when violence erupted after an uprising by the Christian
militias and former government soldiers. The number of departures
escalated after Djotodia’s resignation. Muslims make up roughly
15 percent of the country’s 4.5 million people.

Most have fled
to Chad and Cameroon, while others have gone to Nigeria, Niger and
Sudan, according to IOM statistics. The numbers include foreigners who
work in the Central African Republic as well as citizens. In this
region, people often have social and economic ties across borders. Many
families here, for example, have relatives in Chad, Cameroon and other
neighboring nations.

IOM officials are concerned about those
leaving. The vast majority, roughly 50,000, are headed to Chad, a mostly
Muslim country that is also among the poorest in the world.

“What
kind of support will they get from the Chadian authorities? Are they
going to be able to reinsert themselves into society there?” said
Giovanni Cassani, the emergency coordinator for IOM. “50,000 is a small
town. And there is more on the way, and there will be more, unless the
situation improves here.”

The Central African Republic, Cassani
said, is already reeling from the economic shock of Muslims departing.
Many are traders and shopkeepers who imported staples. They also ran the
meat industry. “It’s going to have a massive effect on society here,”
Cassani said. “Prices are going up. . . .It’s been extremely difficult to find beef in the capital.”

Many
of the clashes have occurred in northwestern towns. In a village called
Bozoum, 2,500 Muslims fled Wednesday, according to Doctors Without
Borders. And Bouar, a Muslim town of 8,000 people, “remains effectively
imprisoned” by anti-balaka militias, according to the agency.

Homes looted, taken apart

In
Bangui, the capital, Chadian special forces and former Seleka rebels
guarded the convoy of trucks carrying Muslims out of the city toward the
Chadian border. The Muslims were picked up at the airport, at mosques
and from an area called Kilo 5, one of the capital’s last remaining
Muslim enclaves. In some cases, French and African soldiers had to fend
off looters. A few trucks had to be abandoned.

The man who fell
off one of the trucks was viciously slain by a mob that cut off his
genitals and hands, said Peter Bouckaert, emergencies director for Human
Rights Watch.

“The French keep trying to say the situation is
stabilizing, but it actually isn’t,” Bouckaert said. “The only areas
that are stabilizing are areas where all the Muslims are gone.”

Only
two weeks ago, Bouckaert said, the Muslim neighborhood of Miskine was
untouched by the anti-balaka. Today, the area is deserted, mosques and
Muslim homes looted and taken apart brick by brick. About 10,000 Muslims
lived in the town of Bossangoa in December, he added. Only a few
hundred are left.

At the airport, Muhammad Abdirahman, 62, was
waiting to leave. His village, Jbawi, had been burned down by the
anti-balaka and nearly everyone was dead, he said. Fortunately, he had
left with his wife and 12 children before the massacre, and arrived at
the airport last week. Originally from Chad, he has lived here for the
past 50 years.

“I don’t even know Chad,” he said. “But what can I
do? If I stay, the Christians will use every opportunity to kill me and
my family.”

It's the trouble that comes from the mindset common to the area: "It is our turn to eat."
When a tribe gains control, it's expected that they wield their newfound power abd they have done so since the beginning of time. So once the next tribe gains power, it is only fair that they do the same to those who had beaten them before. Next time they will control the table and we will have to silently sit or flee but now it is our turn to eat.

Wrong is wrong no matter who does it. It's funny, because there are a few women on here who are always saying that you never see christians doing these types of things, well...

Its heartbreaking and depressing that we live in a world where people are ok with this because of what 'side' the victims/perps are on.

Sigh

Quoting Bookwormy: I see in 24 hours virtually no one has responded. This is hugely concerning. When mobs cut off people's genitalia & murder them, WTH has religion come to exactly? This is tremendously disturbing.

Don't i know it. Moms on CM are complaining all the time of Christians being killed recently, especially by Isis & the like, but this is virtually ignored. & Christians never kill. & when they do so in the USA, like Dr Tiller, it isn't terrorism, etc. Oy Vey tho this is bad....

Quoting muslimahpj:

Nobody cares.

Wrong is wrong no matter who does it. It's funny, because there are a few women on here who are always saying that you never see christians doing these types of things, well...

Its heartbreaking and depressing that we live in a world where people are ok with this because of what 'side' the victims/perps are on.

Sigh

Quoting Bookwormy: I see in 24 hours virtually no one has responded. This is hugely concerning. When mobs cut off people's genitalia & murder them, WTH has religion come to exactly? This is tremendously disturbing.

Quoting Bookwormy: Don't i know it. Moms on CM are complaining atoll the time of Christians being killed recently, especially by Isis & the like, but this is virtually ignored. & Christians never kill. & when they so in the USA, like Dr Tiller, it isn't terrorism, etc. Oy Vey tho this is bad....

Quoting muslimahpj:

Nobody cares.

Wrong is wrong no matter who does it. It's funny, because there are a few women on here who are always saying that you never see christians doing these types of things, well...

Its heartbreaking and depressing that we live in a world where people are ok with this because of what 'side' the victims/perps are on.

Sigh

Quoting Bookwormy: I see in 24 hours virtually no one has responded. This is hugely concerning. When mobs cut off people's genitalia & murder them, WTH has religion come to exactly? This is tremendously disturbing.

Send me email updates about messages I've received on the site and the latest news from The CafeMom Team.
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